Abstract
Objective: This article presents the results
of a case study conducted at a Child and
Youth Care Centre (CYCC) in Pretoria,
South Africa, on social service practitioners’ (SSP)
views of the support services provided by a CYCC to
adolescent witnesses of domestic violence. These
support services are explored in terms of four
inter-dependent levels including the micro, meso,
exo and macro levels of the Ecological Theory, as
described by Bronfenbrenner (1979).
Method: For this study, a qualitative holistic case
study design was adopted. This single case study
design was chosen as information was gathered
from various sources in only one CYCC. Information
was triangulated by using various sources of data,
that is interviews with SSPs and the children, as well
as the policies of the CYCC regarding services offered
for children who have witnessed domestic violence. Results: This study revealed that there are no
specialised services at the identified CYCC to
support adolescent witnesses of domestic violence.
The services that are available seem to be generic
and aimed at addressing problem behaviours in
children and adolescents, rather than providing
proactive, therapeutic support to deal with trauma
such as witnessing physical and verbal domestic
violence in their home of origin.